DVD Review - Mischief

Amid rampant false and misleading marketing, it's refreshing that the newly released Mischief DVD lives 100 percent up to its name - this is, as the intro says, "the video the auto industry doesn't want you to see." This is a journey into the deep, dark underworld of US import tuners and racers.

Mischief is very unlike any movie we've previously reviewed - it uses fairly amateur mini-DV camera work to capture people and cars at their very finest, worst and, yes, their most stupid! It's reality viewing in the raw.

The 60-minute US-based production kicks off with "D.C. Street Racing". Very much self explanatory, this segment shows some illegal night-time drag racing with cheering spectators lining both sides of the public road - kinda like the overcrowded special stages in a round of WRC. See home highly tuned Hondas, BMWs, Toyotas (in particular Supra TTs), Mustangs, 'Vettes, Z28s, a hot Audi A4 quattro and even some traditional old-school muscle drag cars. Things get ugly, though, when there's a dispute and someone reverses - hard - into some parked cars; this is prominently followed by a punch-up. And just when you think things are getting a bit out of hand the Police show up with a helicopter and their squad cars barricade both ends of the street; it's ticket time!

These antics are later duplicated in the segment "San Diego Street Racing" and "Philadelphia Street Racing"; more hard and fast drag racing and the emergence of cars with flashing lights on the roof. In the Philadelphia drags, the cops cage everyone in and write out tickets and fines for more than three hours - until a daring escape plan pays off...

Barely a couple of minutes into the movie you soon forget about any issues with the camera quality - you're too caught up in the crazy action!

And if your heart gets pumped up with these antics, the next short feature - "Out Run" - will send you into cardiac. Go in-car as a driver (and two passengers) blast down a freeway in a turbo Audi A4 quattro at around 130 mph (210 km/h), dodging slower traffic and driving down the emergency lane! The reason? Those pesky cops are giving chase again!

For a real speed thrill though, nothing outdoes the on-handlebar camera mounted on a Yamaha R1. Listen to the shrill scream of the 12,000-odd rpm engine and watch in awe at how quickly this superbike hauls itself up to a stonking 177 mph (285 km/h). You'll get flashbacks of this days after watching the movie.

And there's more fun that doesn't involve such insane speeds. "Snow" shows a bunch of 'yobs' sliding around and doing donuts in (of course) the snow, using machinery ranging from a BMW X5 to a new BMW M3, GC8 STi and Camaro. Oh, and from hereon there are a few random flashes of nudity - just to break things up...

The section "Reckless" is another cut-loose. Drool as you watch mod'd NSXs, Ferraris, Porsches and other exotica cruise and thrash down the street and, at times, hit the dirt. There's also some crazy motorbike riding and skateboard scenes to go along with some kick-arse sound mixes. Oh, and you'll see a Supra do what must be the world's easiest burnout - there's so much torque on tap, the engine's barely doing 1500 rpm and the bags are smokin'!

Go with the Mischief crew as 'undercover agent's to the 2002 Detroit International motorshow where you can see the very latest and greatest (not to mention weirdest!) in auto creations and shake hands with some important CEOs. Oh, and make sure you go easy on all the free beer...

Someone must have also had a few drinks when they thought up the idea for the "Feature Car" - a 1988 Mitsubishi 4WD ute with a worked 4G63 turbomotor! Speak to the owner about his fairly ratty looking sleeper and believe it when he says "I like to race a 'Vette or Camaro on the way home from work and whoop their arse..." This conversation is, by the way, part of the very limited dialogue on the video - a great soundtrack, roaring engines and tyre squealing is what you normally hear.

If you have any respect for cars you might want to turn away for the "Auto Abuse" skits; oh, dear... The Mischief crew does the Jackass thing taking a Ford Escape 4WD (with only 3.5 miles on the clock) and proceeding to ram it through a wall of bins and driving at high speed across a median strip, launching the vehicle a l-o-n-g way into the air and coming down, well, very hard. The shower of sparks from the undercarriage and the mangled rear rim are testament to that!

The next victim is a 2002 Nissan Maxima. This poor vehicle gets flung down a desert rack at high speed and s-l-a-m-s into a rut with immediate consequences. Our heroes pull over to discover an ominous pool of transmission fluid gathering under the car... oops! Not perturbed they head back on their course, weaving and sliding the car from one side of the track to another until mounting a large dirt bank and getting stuck. Johnny Knoxville eat your heart out!

There's more cringes in the "Drag Crashes" and "F&^% Ups" specials. Some of the drag incidents are pretty severe and, chances are, you won't have many laughs - except at the car that launches, its parachute falls off the back and opens as he tries to cut a decent ET! No one could accuse him of having an aerodynamic advantage! F&^% Ups is more of the same kinda stuff - albeit at slower speed and there's not as much carnage. Hold onto your seat as you 'lose' a Honda S2000, nearly get T-boned by a BMW doing a burnout and more. Oh, and one very fast moving turbocharged Civic shows why it's not a great idea to go fast down a road you're not entirely familiar with!

The Bonus section takes things further with more Auto Abuse on a 2002 Honda Accord, a top speed run in an Audi S4, a quick visit to the 2001 Vegas SEMA show (where there's everything from monster trucks and massive rim'd Landcruisers to Hondas and quad-runners) and a Wild Bikini Contest (need an explanation?). Oh, and there's also a "drag" between a tuned Supra and a Lamborghini Countach - but it's a total non-event.

Mischief - a production of Teckademics - has proven a smash in the US (and has now moved onto sequels) and will likely take-off in other parts of the word as well - there's simply nothing else like it. The movie carries an M-rating - there is some swearing and nudity and, well, some of the themes aren't for church - and, at the time of writing, is available only in PAL DVD form. Selling for A$36.95 (US$23.48) plus delivery through the AutoSpeed shop it's highly entertaining. Negatives? Well aside from some dubious camera work now and then, it'd be nice if it went longer than 60-minutes. But that's a compliment in itself. Note - to watch some free preview trailers visit "The Seedy Side of Speed". If you like what you see you'll love the rest of the movie!

One thing's for sure - once you watch Mischief you'll be sprinting out the door with your car keys!

Mischief is available in the AutoSpeed Shop : Buy it here.

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